Following the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which claimed the lives of six people, the sole survivor, Julio Cervantes Suarez, shared his harrowing experience in an exclusive interview with NBC News. Cervantes Suarez, 37, recounted how he watched as his coworkers, friends, and family members fell to their deaths after a cargo ship collided with a supporting column, causing the bridge to crumble on March 26.

Cervantes Suarez, who was part of a roadwork crew on the bridge, miraculously survived by escaping from his sinking truck into the Patapsco River. He described the moment when the bridge began collapsing while they were on a break in their construction vehicles. Despite the tragedy, he expressed gratitude for being alive and cherished his family.

The victims of the collapse were all Latino immigrants, drawn to the U.S. for work opportunities. In the aftermath, the close-knit Latino community in Baltimore County erected a memorial to honor the deceased as salvage divers worked to recover all the bodies over six weeks.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the cargo ship involved in the collision, the Dali, had experienced power outages before sailing from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. The FBI is conducting a criminal probe into the incident, as the ship’s owner and manager seek to limit their legal liability, facing challenges from the City of Baltimore and lawyers representing the victims.

Plans to rebuild the bridge at an estimated cost of $1.7 billion are underway, with calls from Maryland senators for Congress to approve funding to cover the reconstruction fully. The remaining sections of the bridge will be demolished to make room for the new structure in the coming months, as officials seek to bring closure to the devastating event and hold those responsible accountable in what may be one of the costliest maritime disasters in history.